[Analysis] One Piece – Big Mom And Elbaf Island

Welcome to Totland, where residence cost only a portion of your soul!

I have been re-evaluating my thoughts surrounding Big Mom and her eventual defeat and trying to rationalise how Big Mom and her crew could come out of Whole Cake Island still relevant. A lot of effort has gone into focusing on the Big Mom Pirates within the Whole Cake Island Arc that it appears logical to conclude Big Mom could be defeated at the end of the arc if certain conditions are met. At the same time though there are elements within Big Mom’s flashback that allows for her to remain a relevant antagonist within the future. I am surprised I didn’t place more weight on it earlier but Big Mom’s connection to Elbaf Island allows for a fantastic entry point to reintroduce Big Mom and her crew in later in the story. Big Mom is one of the Giants most hated individuals, which makes her a fitting and more importantly, relevant, antagonist for that arc.

One Piece 876 – Coincidental Appearance

That was so tsundere

Well snap, I think Pudding has coincidentally become my favourite character of the arc now. Her fractured psyche, while a result of a terrible and traumatic past, has painted her such a fascinating character. Pudding was conditioned to hate herself, to believe that she herself was a monster fated to lie and deceive, but now that someone has accepted her for who she is, her mind has been left reeling with the sudden shift in emotions. As a result Pudding has lost control over how she expresses herself subconsciously masking her gratitude behind her dark and condescending dialog. Pudding means well but at the moment she just can’t handle the immense amount of positivity overwhelming her.

One Piece Chapter 875 – Escaping Big Mom II

That was amazing!

To manipulate an aspect of Big Mom’s soul manifested into a cloud, Nami is certainly establishing herself as one who is able to take advantage of a situation to its fullest. Given Nami having a certain level of control over the weather with her Tempo’s I expected her to have a moment to shift the momentum but to have her completely enthrall Zeus and immobilize Big Mom, even if temporarily, she not only shifted the momentum but carved out a path onto which the Straw Hat Pirates and allies can turn their whole situation around and escape. Once again One Piece proves that power levels aren’t necessarily the determining factor is a character’s strength, instead it is how they exploit the vulnerabilities of their opponent. With Pudding and Chiffon now on their way, it is only a matter of time before they manage to calm Big Mom down.

One Piece – Charlotte Pudding – The Heart Within

No how high you build your walls Pudding, Sanji could see through you

Within the shadow of a jaded heart beating in the tune of hostility and sadism, a warm glow reveals itself fragmented by pain, suffering and fragility. A warmth smothered by rejection and caged by the bars of perception. A warmth relegated to the depths of the heart to hide behind lies and conceit used to mask the agonising desire overwhelming it’s beat. More than anything, what Pudding wanted was to be accepted for who she is, something denied to her by own family whom berated her for her uniqueness. This caused Pudding to perceive her own third eye as a monstrous feature to be afraid of forcing her to shield herself behind her lies and deception. All those walls and masks surrounding her heart shattered and fell away when Sanji came and accepted Pudding for who she is – a wondrous lady with a beautiful third eye.

One Piece Chapter 874 – Escaping Big Mom

Now that’s a ridiculously cool line-up of characters (yay Reiju)

With the overwhelming outburst from Big Mom at the Wedding ceremony desouling the existence of the “Big Mom assassination” plan from the realm of achievability, the situation has continued to collapse around the Straw Hat Pirates with each event gradually worsening the closer they get to escaping. Not only is Big Mom after them with all her fury, rage and burning hunger but her army is at the ready to unleash wherever and whenever needed. Katakuri is lying in wait on the Thousand Sunny in case they escape Big Mom and if they do manage to board their ship and set sail, the Big Mom Pirates have their underwater sea slugs and battleships ready to track and pursue them. It is going to be a colossal task to escape Big Mom’s territory and may just require additional inference from an unscheduled third-party/event.